


Insomniacs Anonymous

by last_ARKangel



Series: Family Matters [1]
Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Adoption, Angst with a Happy Ending, Baby problems, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Insomnia sucks, M/M, Married Couple, gratuitous baking, mentions of IQ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-12
Packaged: 2019-08-01 04:17:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16277633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/last_ARKangel/pseuds/last_ARKangel
Summary: Jackal learns a few secrets while wandering Hereford Base at night. Some good and some bad





	Insomniacs Anonymous

Hereford Base - 3:00 AM

Corridors silent, only the faint snores of recruits and operators heard from behind closed doors. Ryad was used to this empty hour as he spent the evenings and early mornings wandering, Rainbow’s resident nightly vagabond. Few times he would not be left alone as other operators also shared a bit of nightmare land with him. Just the night before he had caught Ela sitting on the couch in the rec room watching some silly kid show, eating a pint of Ben & Jerry’s whilst trying to avoid the tear stains upon her cheeks. He had just sat down beside her as she offered to share the frozen treat while they both laughed till the sun rose in the sky. Ryad never knew who would be accompanying him but he figured it was inevitable.

Tonight was no different. As he entered the kitchen he was less than surprised to see a sleepy Marius and Dom baking what looked to be cookies. Both Germans in sweats with flour stains on their faces as if they had a small scuffle in the process. “Dom, don’t touch the cookies. I am not dragging your ass to Gustave when you burn your hands on them. Wait for them to- Oh gute nacht, Ryad. Monika’s birthday is tomorrow and we decided to make her favorite cookies. We have enough for you to have a couple after they cool,” Marius commented with a small smile on his face. Ryad had always found Marius to be a good person even if crowds always drove him to silence. Not a fan of social interaction in big groups, Marius was on the quieter side. It sometimes made him wonder why he had ever ended up with such a loudmouth man like Dominic Brunsmeier as a boyfriend. Still no one could argue how protective of Marius he was. The battery wielding operator had always made sure the other German were kept out of the multitude of prank wars that happened on base. 

The prankster still looked mopey after his boyfriend had swatted his hand away from the chocolate chip cookies on the cooling rack. Judging by the warm air and light coming from the oven, Ryad figured they had made a few batches for their teammate. Monika had been in denial about turning the big four-o but the base had reminded her that she was still young at heart. The blonde was popular among the other operators and had proven herself as a kind soul to go to. Shaking his head, the Spaniard politely spoke, “Dom can have my share. He probably would enjoy it more as sweets are not to my taste as they are to his.” The defender gave him a smirk as he turned and thanked the Spanish operator before snagging one of the freshly baked cookies only to drop it immediately as he cursed under his breath, hand shaking away the burn. The playful bickering that resulted ultimately ended with a kiss by Dom to shut Marius up. Even the happy still had their demons which Ryad recognized made everything harder to interpret to the outsider looking in. No one but the Rainbow operators saw what was to be read between the lines.

Dom’s constant bags under his eyes after nights where he wakes from nightmares induced from his time undercover. Not to mention Marius for awhile after the crash landing in New Mexico had been jumpy at any sudden loud noises. Ryad could remember distinctly him walking out of movie night with everyone when they decided to have a marathon of old monster movies for Halloween. Not long after Dom followed and the next morning everyone had worked together to make him breakfast in apology. The family unit they had created was the way they coped with life among such a taxing job. No one judged if someone broke down. They just talked them through the pain and helped them stand back up with grace.

Not wanting to interfere with the two and their alone time, Ryad bid his farewells and headed to the rec room in hopes that he could take a nice nap upon the couch. Despite it being worn it was a nice substitute for his bed which only brought with it nightmares. That was the plan till he spied Taina wrapped with a blanket on the chair with popcorn while Vicente and Mike were snoring softly as they cuddled on the couch. Apparently they had fallen asleep at the beginning of the movie and Taina not able to sleep had changed from some crazy action flick to a Brazilian soap opera. Ryad raised a silent eyebrow to which Taina returned with a glare that said it all. If he told anyone he was a dead man. However Taina had to stop herself from chuckling as he pulled out his phone to take a picture of the team’s gay dads. Blackmail for when everyone wanted out of good ol’ Thatcher training sessions. Mike really needed to know when to stop sometimes but thankfully Vicente had been able to keep him calm ever since they had gotten hitched the year before. In fact it was surprising they were there and not at their own apartment. Ryad mouthed the question at Taina so as to not disturb the couple to which she motioned him to her phone to read the text Vicente had sent her earlier. Ryad’s smile grew at the words. Vicente and Mike had been approved to adopt a kid. 

Mike Baker had gone years without wanting a family but Vicente Souza had changed all of that. Both men had retired from active Rainbow duty and were now simply giving orders and training the others. Others had also done as such in order to maintain their place at Hereford. It was weird when he had become the new oldest Rainbow operator but Ryad knew he had a reason for staying put for someone else. That very reason was probably asleep at his desk from trying to finish his paperwork before heading to their bed. “Tell them congrats for me, mi amiga,” he whispered to the shorter woman. All he got was a knowing smile and nod to which he took as his cue to let her enjoy her show before anyone else barged in.

The final stop before he rescued his sleepy knight in shining armor was the workshop. He knew Elena had been staying late to work on her husband’s gadget shield. The small woman had told him before he finally tried to properly sleep to stop and let her know so she wouldn’t be worrying her head off. That had been that afternoon and knowing his fellow CTU member that she would still be there working till the job was done. The engineer’s history with the habit of overworking was well known on base. It was usually noticed once the coffee started to run out as she gulped it down to sustain her till the job was done. Only Alexsandr could drag her to bed kicking and screaming and even then he was also scared of her at times. 

Ryad raised a fist to knock on the workshop door, ready to sing sing greet the tiny woman when the sobs halted his hand mid air. Pausing he leaned in and listened to the words being spoken, “Elena, it will be alright. Kids happen when they happen,” Alexsandr’s voice soft and soothing on the ears. Ryad had known they had been trying to have a kid and everyone had been excited when Elena had showed up that one day and gifted her husband with the positive pregnancy test. Had they gotten bad news? Elena’s trembling voice confirmed his suspicions as he heard her choke out, “Dos años, gilipollas! We tried for two years and when it happens we fucking lose it. I can’t...I can’t try anymore.” Ryad rested his forehead upon the workshop door, whispering, “Lo siento mucho, amiga.” Elena had wanted kids so much and so had Alexsandr but hearing her break was him intruding on their privacy. She would tell people in her own time but Ryad could already tell that this would make things shake among everyone. Zofia had been planning a baby shower for the engineer since she had not been so lucky when she had had her own daughter. That would have to be cancelled and everyone remaining quiet till she was ready to move on. Sometimes insomnia led him places he enjoyed but this was the furthest thing from what he wanted to hear. 

His hand slowly fell away, feet slowly stepping backwards as he almost tripped over himself trying to leave. Family was easily shattered but just as easily rebuilt. Rainbow had put together the broken and lost before weaving them in together to create one unstoppable force that had seen the White Masks retreat time and time again. Not even the lonely footsteps echoing in the empty hallway to Gustave’s office could prevent Ryad’s thoughts from swirling. When did the nightmares come to an end? When did the good people get to reap the rewards of their good deeds? Why did people like them serve the greater good but come out more than unscathed? It was an endless loop of questions that cluttered his sleep deprived brain.

The lone footsteps halted in front of his lover’s office, the door before him ajar to allow for Gustave to hear anyone’s calls for help. The poor field medic had unfortunately fallen asleep again at his desk whilst doing paperwork. Ryad leaned on the doorframe and smiled lovingly towards the younger man. It was almost too peaceful to move the medic but he knew Gustave’s muscles would thank him in the morning when it had time to rest upon a bed. Striding towards the Frenchman, Ryad wrapped his arms around Gustave from behind. A sleepy murmur escaped his lover’s lips, “Je suis réveillé je te promets mon amour.” A chuckle followed by a warm hug from Ryad’s arms was enough to convey that he believed none of it. “Sure, Gustave. You never fell asleep, mi amor. You do need sleep though. Come to bed please?”

Before their relationship Gustave would avoid listening about sleep unless Gilles managed to drag him to bed. Nowadays he just followed without complaint. It was the little things that made their family work. Love was just a small tip on a massive iceberg. They all had their nightmares and demons but they all could agree that they all knew that in the end they would never walk away. Six had recruited them all for a purpose but the team she had formed was nothing she had ever planned for. One that Ryad thanked her silently every single day for. As he led Gustave to bed he smiled. Maybe everything would be okay after all.

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like my shit posting and updates follow me at gehrmans-apprentice at tumblr. I plan on making this a series but who knows how long I will commit to the one-shots. I'm kinda intimidated by the R6S fandom and all of the good writers here so pls be kind <3


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